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Chronic pancreatitis (CP) has historically been attributed to heavy alcohol consumption in up to 90% of patients. Many patients with CP report that they are automatically but inaccurately assumed to abuse alcohol at the time of hospital admission. However, recent discoveries of genetic mutations associated with CP and the recognition of smoking as a risk factor might counter this long-standing belief.
To further investigate the etiology of CP, researchers analyzed data on 539 patients and 695 controls (first-degree relatives, spouses, and friends of patients) from 19 academic referral and community centers across the U.S. that contributed to a large cohort study on CP (North American Pancreatitis Study 2). Information collected included a wo…